Sewer systems and other underground pipes can be difficult to inspect due to their hidden location. Leaks in such pipes can increase costs associated with operating the pipe, and potentially create hazards. Thus, it is beneficial to identify defects in the pipe which can leak (both leaks into and out of the pipe).
One form of defect detection is described in detail in ASTM Standard F2550-06 which describes an electroscan method for defect detection by measuring variations in electric current flow through walls of the pipe as part of a series circuit including a voltage source and an electric current sensor, which collects data as the probe moves through a known position within the pipe.
One such probe beneficial for use in conducting this electroscan is the segmented measuring probe for sewer pipes described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,954, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Such probes effectively concentrate the electric current over a relatively short length of the pipe in which the probe is located, so that electric current amplitude data gathered by the electroscan method can be accurately correlated with the condition of the pipe directly adjacent the probe.
Operation of the electro scan method can be difficult in that there is a challenge associated with accurately correlating the current amplitude data with the probe position. If the probe is not where the operators think it is when current data is gathered from the current meter, operators will mistakenly associate the current data correlating with pipe defects to the wrong portions of the pipe. Repairs might then be done in the wrong location or further analysis conducted in the wrong location, wasting time, resources and increasing the cost of further analysis and repairs. To precisely correlate probe position with current amplitude data can be a time intensive and laborious process, thus magnifying the resources required to analyze a section of pipe. Accordingly, a need exists for better systems and methods for efficiently gathering and correlating both current amplitude data and probe position data and combining this data into a two-dimensional data array for viewing and meaningful analysis.
Furthermore, raw data gathered from the current meter and probe position often need significant conditioning before it can be most meaningfully evaluated by personnel. Such analysis is beneficially done at a remote location where the most specialized data conditioning software can act on the data, and where the unconditioned and conditioned data can simultaneously be archived and incorporated into a larger data set of overall piping system condition. Data, once conditioned at the remote location, can then be beneficially returned to the site where the operators are located for more precise interpretation of the current amplitude data and correlation to potential pipe defects.